Numerous pest control agents are known. Generally, pest control is accomplished by finding or devising a suitable active ingredient for control of the pest, and applying it to a pest controlled target area where it is desired to remove pests and/or to prevent the pest from developing. For instance, in the case of mosquito control, numerous oleogenous mosquito control agents have been developed. Certain mosquito control agents are composed of oleogenous nontoxic materials. It is known that mosquitoes develop in areas of standing water, and accordingly, such oleogenous pest control agents frequently are applied to the water to form a temporary barrier film on the surface of the water to thereby prevent or impede mosquito larvae from developing in or on the surface of the water.
Many conventional control agents are liquids. Such liquids are typically applied by spraying the liquid into a pest control target area. In many cases, it would be desirable to apply the pest control composition in solid form. Solid pest control compositions typically are less prone to volatile dissemination of the active agent, and in some instances may be more readily and conveniently applied; for example, solid pest control compositions may be dropped from a helicopter or airplane or other elevated conveyance onto the surface of a large body of water somewhat more readily than can liquids. In addition, solid control agents are believed to be more able to penetrate a vegetative canopy when disseminated from an elevated conveyance.
When it is desired to form a solid composition for mosquitoes, a number of criteria are desirable. First, the solid pest control composition should be sufficiently durable to allow the control composition to be transported in bulk, such as by rail car or via bagged transport. Second, the solid composition, which generally will include a carrier and an active control agent, must be compatible with the pest target area environment; consequently, the carrier should be readily biodegradable. Third, the solid pest control composition should readily and quickly release the control agent when applied into a water column or when otherwise contacted by water, such as rain. It has been observed that it is difficult to formulate a solid composition that is both sufficiently durable to withstand bulk transport and yet sufficiently capable of quickly releasing the active agent upon introduction to a water column.
The prior art has provided numerous efforts to devise such a pest control composition. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,328 purports to describe a process for treating organisms with a composition that includes a carrier, an active ingredient, and a coating. The carrier material is said to include silica, cellulose, metal oxides, clays, paper, infusorial earth, slag, hydrophobic materials, polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol and the like. Control of the release of rate of the active ingredient is said to be obtained via choice of coating material, which is said to be a fatty acid, alcohol or ester. Similar technology purportedly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,387,386; 6,350,461; 6,346,262; 6,337,078; 6,335,027; 6,001,382; 5,902,596; 5,885,605; 5,858,386; 5,858,384; 5,846,553 and 5,698,210 (all by Levy to Lee County Mosquito Control District, Fort Meyers, Fla.).
Another prior art effort at such a pest control composition is purportedly disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,824,328, 5,567,430, 4,983,390 and 4,818,534. In accordance with the purported teaching of these patents, the activation is provided in the form of a material that includes a super absorbent polymer and inert diluents.
Generally, it is a goal of the present invention to provide a pest control composition. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the pest control composition is a mosquito control composition, and, in general, it is an object of these preferred embodiments to provide a composition that is sufficiently durable to withstand both transport but that is capable of releasing the active material quickly upon introduction to a water column. In other embodiments, it is a general goal of the invention to provide a method for preparing a pest control composition and a method for pest control.